Long part of college basketball’s postseason equations and debates, “strength of schedule” is poised to return to college football’s vernacular.

The Bowl Championship Series’ early years illustrate just how much impact this component could have, and future schedules show that the ACC’s Virginia Tech, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Miami are potentially well-positioned to take advantage of SOS.

In unveiling the four-team playoff that will commence in 2014, commissioners made clear that winning your conference and playing an ambitious schedule will be the primary criteria weighed by the selection committee. SOS carries similar import with the NCAA basketball tournament selection panel and was a part of the BCS standings calculations for its first six seasons, 1998-2003.

Here are three examples of how schedules influenced the standings and, in one case, the national championship game:

* In 1999, Nos. 1 and 2 Florida State and Virginia Tech clashed for the national title amid scant controversy. Both were undefeated and dominant.

* Similarly, in 2002 undefeated Miami and Ohio State were obvious choices to play for the national championship. Once-beaten Iowa was No. 3 in the polls entering postseason, two spots ahead of twice-beaten Southern California.

But by the BCS’ calculation – two-thirds on your opponents’ records and one-third on your opponents’ opponents’ records -- the Trojans played the nation’s toughest schedule, the Hawkeyes the 49th. That disparity lifted USC to fourth in the BCS standings and dropped Iowa to fifth. Again, in a four-team playoff, that distinction would have been XL.

* The BCS’ schedule rankings were decisive in 2003, when LSU edged USC by .16 points for second place in the standings and a national-title showdown against Oklahoma, which the Tigers won 21-14. LSU’s schedule strength was 29th, USC’s 37th. That created a difference of .32 points, double the margin by which the Tigers nudged into the championship game.

Football scheduling is among an athletic director’s most trying and fluid responsibilities. Games are contracted years in advance, often with escape clauses and always with the unknown.

For example, Virginia is set to play Stanford in 2017 and ’18. Will the Cardinal remain a national power in the post-Andrew Luck era? Plummet to the pre-Luck losing ways? Or become a middle-of-the-pack Pacific 12 Conference program?

Courtesy of fbschedules.com, here are some notable ACC non-conference opponents set for 2014 and beyond:

* Virginia Tech faces Ohio State in 2014 and ’15, Wisconsin in 2016 and ’17, and East Carolina in each of those four years.

* In addition to its annual regular-season finale against South Carolina, Clemson plays Georgia in 2014, Ole Miss in 2015 and ’16, and Oklahoma State in 2019 and ’20.

* Similarly, in addition to its yearly war with Georgia, Georgia Tech has scheduled games against Ole Miss in 2017 and ’18, Alabama in 2019 and ’20, and South Carolina in 2021 and ’22.

* Maryland plays West Virginia from 2014-17, and Texas in 2017 and ’18.

* Miami has scheduled Nebraska in 2014 and ’15, Notre Dame in 2016 and ’17, Michigan State in 2020 and ’21.

* North Carolina State faces LSU in 2017 and ’20.

* North Carolina plays Ohio State in 2015 and ’17.

* Virginia has a home-and-home versus UCLA in 2014 and ’15.

History teaches that some of these games will be delayed or canceled, but there’s no question that come 2014, scheduling will be more paramount than ever.

I can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com. Follow me at twitter.com/DavidTeelatDP

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